Goal time · 5K
An 18:00 5K works out to 5:48 per mile, or 3:36 per kilometer. Below are the mile splits for a slightly faster second half, the halfway time to aim for, and the training paces that go with this goal.
The numbers
This plan starts about 1% slower than goal pace and finishes about 1% faster, so the second half is slightly quicker than the first. The elapsed column is what your watch should read as you pass each marker.
| Mile | Pace for That Mile | Elapsed Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5:50 | 5:50 |
| Halfway (1.6) | 5:48 | 9:03 |
| 2 | 5:47 | 11:38 |
| 3 | 5:45 | 17:23 |
| Finish (3.1) | 5:44 | 18:00 |
Measured against the latest published results of 5,229 5K races on RunSesh.
One edition per race, from RunSignup races with published results. Fields include walkers and charity entrants, so this describes these races, not every runner in the country.
These are the paces for a runner who can already race an 18:00 5K, worked out with Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas, the method behind the training tables in Daniels' Running Formula. If your most recent race is slower, train at the paces on the page for that time.
Most of your weekly miles, including the long run.
Steady longer runs at the pace this fitness would hold for a marathon.
A steady run of about 20 minutes, or longer repeats with short rests.
Repeats of 3 to 5 minutes, with easy jogs between.
A 2008 Sports Medicine review by Abbiss and Laursen found that distributing pace more evenly during events lasting more than two minutes may improve performance times. The plan here uses a slightly faster second half to enforce restraint in the opening kilometers. Use the halfway marker as your checkpoint: if you feel controlled there, you've given yourself a real chance over the closing stretch.
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat a 5:15 mile as the same performance as an 18:00 5K, putting this goal at a VDOT of about 56. If your mile time sits close to that mark on a recent effort, the 5K target is grounded in something real.
The RRCA pace chart developed by Amby Burfoot is direct on this point: "don't begin with a future goal time." Base your training paces on what you've run in a recent race.
USATF certifies courses by measuring the shortest possible route a runner could travel, with a short course prevention factor included. Anyone who drifts wide on turns covers more ground than that measured line, so a watch's average pace can read faster than the actual course pace.
Daniels and Gilbert's formulas treat a 37:20 10K as equivalent to an 18:00 5K. If you've raced a 10K recently, compare your finish time to that mark to see how your current fitness lines up with the 5K goal.
